Streetwear Brand Kuki London Opens New Shoreditch Pop-Up

Sep 20 2017
BY
Jacinta Ruscillo

Just a year old on the streetwear scene, Japanese-named brand Kuki London is set to make waves with their second pop-up store in Shoreditch this Friday. The first 2016 Brick Lane pop-up sold out, so their second venture promises to be bigger and better with weekly DJs, special guests, gaming stations and more collabs with fellow upcoming brands such as Sprayground UK for the launch.

Founded by Nico Costas and Eden Tarn in 2016, Kuki’s aim was to “break the norm” of London’s streetwear industry, merging with influences from Japanese and American baseball culture, but with an entirely gender-neutral collection. Inclusivity and the deconstruction of gender norms is a hot topic in the media eye at the moment with other big names such as Uniqlo and John Lewis setting an example for gender neutral and gender fluid clothing lines.

Earlier this week, Uniqlo released their newest collaboration with JW Anderson, a high-end designer whose focus has shifted onto breaking gender barriers. Kuki’s concept is an example of a forward-thinking and avant-garde aesthetic in a diverse city with a lot of cultural influence. Synonymous with the name and mission of the brand, it means a “void composed of pure energy” directly translating to “air” in Japanese.

As well as a trainers collaboration with Adidas last year, the distinctive Kuki face masks have been featured in the Donaeo ft JME and Dizzee Rascal music video for Black last December and have set the brand image for their future campaigns. The success of last year’s Brick Lane pop-up and with their third collection set to launch later this month, so much traction in one year can only forecast bigger things for next season.